Services & Safety
Whether requiring a Letting only service, Rent Collection or Full Management Services, Landlords have the responsibility for the safety of both the Tenant and their own property during the tenancy.
Maintenance and Preparation
We employ our own team of workmen to prepare properties for letting and general maintenance along the way. We can undertake a small decorating job right through to full refurbishment. Please call Head Office on 01372 722266 should you wish us to provide a quotation.
The following regulations must be adhered to without fail by the Landlord and as Agents we must ensure that they are carried out.
Fire and Furnishings (Safety) Regulations 1988 (1993)
All soft furnishings such as settees, sofa, beds, padded chairs, pillows cushions and so on must comply with the Fire Resistance requirements contained within the regulations.
Items of furniture made prior to 1950 are termed as antiques and as such are excluded from the regulations.
Usually a label is attached to the item of furniture to confirm it is acceptable. We will at all times check your furniture and advise you accordingly to the best of our ability.
Gas Safety (Installations and Use) Regulations 1994 (1996)
A qualified Engineer (CORGI or British Gas) must also check all gas appliance and installations within the accommodation, on an annual basis for its safe use.
This includes such items as Gas Fires, Central Heating boilers, Gas cookers and other gas appliances. It also insists that flues and chimneys are clear of obstructions and in the correct place.
The engineer must issue a certificate and a copy presented to the Tenant at the start of any tenancy.
Any items that fail to comply with the regulations must be fixed or removed immediately.
The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
These regulations require that all Electrical equipment left at the property be ""safe and of no risk or injury to human or animal"".
They should be checked that flexes, fuses and electrical out put are safe and correct. Items that must comply are all portable electrical items such as electric cooker, fridge’s, washing machines, kettles, toasters, etc.
As agents we cannot guarantee which items are safe or not and will recommend that a qualified electrician checks these items (a charge will be made). This can be carried out by your own electrician.
Alternitevely, we can arrange for your property to be compliant
Please call us on 01372 722266 or email us at lettings@directresidential.co.uk to arrange this service for you.
Cleaning
We can also arrange for your property to be professionally cleaned prior to the commencement of a tenancy or at the end. Please call head office on 01372 722266.
Insurance
The financial rewards of letting your home or a flat can, at first sight, appear to be outweighed by all the regulations you need to comply with and by the various risks involved.
However, this is not necessarily the case; a good knowledge of what you are doing, good management and a good insurance package will take care of most eventualities.
There is no law which says you must carry insurance as a landlord, or as a tenant, but you'd both be very foolish not to. If you have a mortgage your lender will almost certainly insist that the property is properly insured.
Policies are now available to cover almost every conceivable eventuality, from a slate falling off your roof and injuring a passer by, to tenants damaging your property, or you having to re-house tenants following a fire or flood.
It is important to realise that normal household insurance policies are not suitable for letting. You need a policy which is specifically designed for letting and one which covers several additional risks.
Don't forget, it's easy to obtain insurance cover by not disclosing all the material facts (such as the fact that you are letting the property) but, in effect, you are not insured. If anything happens the insurance company will investigate and will almost certainly refuse to pay out.
Landlord's policies for residential letting are now very competitive and there is little difference in cost from normal household policies. Many packages are available ready made and off the shelf from very reputable high profile insurance companies and can be purchased quickly by utilising our associated company above.
As more and more people let properties, policies have developed to cater for the landlord's needs and cover can often be extended just as required, for example:
- Building and landlord's contents
- Public and occupier liabilities
- Loss of rental and the cost of re-housing your tenant in the case of a fire or a flood
- Cost of hotel accommodation if your tenant refuses to leave on time
- Loss of rent if the tenant does not pay
- The cost of evicting a bad tenant
- Malicious damage and vandalism by tenants and others
- Emergency repair services
- General legal costs etc
Information provided here is by definition general in its nature and is not intended as a substitute for specific legal advice.
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